Primary Tools & Materials:PAPER, computer application

Additional Tools & Materials: scissors, scanner, camera

For today’s exploration, the matchup is paper (origami) + computer applications (in this case, YouTube). I was hoping to find an online origami generator that would make a crazy, incredibly detailed folded letter from a pre-cut square, but no luck. I did, however, find this video that shows how to make a sort of primitive letter K, using a long skinny strip of paper, rather than a square.

I started with my square patterned origami paper, and trimmed it down to about a 1” strip. I then folded it lengthwise, or “hot dog fold," as a coworker at Pier 1 used to call it when we were folding towels, rugs, and so forth. (The other option was, of course, “hamburger fold.”)

I then folded the long skinny strip into itself in thirds, and the center section became the vertical stroke of the K. The two end sections folded down and behind the center section, and then over at 45 (ish) degree angles to create the diagonal strokes.

The result is a very simplified letter that can’t stand up on its own or even lay flat without holding it down with a finger or some glue. To show the form flat, I ended up scanning it, which also helped emphasize some of the shadows and layers that the paper creates.

I could see this exploration expanding to create a very blocky, primitive typeface, featuring slight shadows, fold marks, and edges of paper peeking behind a fold - all to suggest layered dimensionality. I think it would be important to actually make each of these letters from paper first - to know the paper’s limitations and create a typeface in which each letter was allowed the same length or width of paper throughout. Limiting the materials in this way would make the overall set of letters more cohesive and realistic.